Author: Jack Oduor

• Cybersecurity, corruption, and policy shifts have been cited among the top issues that Kenyan businesses will have to confront in 2024.
• In 2022, Kenya suffered a loss of at least $153 million to cybercrime, which is projected to rise by 14 per cent annually.
• A new report ranks Kenya as the second most difficult country for businesses in EAC after South Sudan.

Cybersecurity, corruption, and policy shifts have been cited among the top issues Kenyan businesses will have to confront in 2024.

The latest Risk Barometer by underwriting giant Allianz, reveals that in Kenya’s complex and dynamic business environment, several challenges loom, casting shadows on the entrepreneurial spirit that drives the economy.

The high cost of living directly impacts consumer spending, affecting businesses across sectors. A weakening currency coupled with inflation also threatens businesses and the economy.

According to Allianz Commercial CEO Petros Papanikolaou, the key challenges for companies …

• Kenya’s debt repayment in 2023 was majorly from the Consolidated Fund. 
• The country has faced liquidity challenges due to uncertainty in accessing funding from global financial markets.
• Analysts, however, maintain that the practice of taking on debt to pay debt is unsustainable.

The National Treasury has revealed that Kenya’s debt repayment surged to $3.69 billion (KSh600.73 billion) by December 2023. Despite an increase in revenue collection, Kenyans found little reason to rejoice as debt consumed 57 per cent of the government’s tax revenues, amounting to $6.14 billion (about KSh1.05 trillion).

Only 43 per cent of the generated revenue remained for development, salaries, and the state’s recurrent expenditure such as paying salaries.

The disclosure, titled “Kenya’s statement of actual revenues & net exchequer issues as of 31st Dec 2023,” signals a need for Kenyans to tighten their belts this year. President William Ruto’s administration anticipates higher repayments due to the devaluation …

• Rising volatility in Kenya’s Fixed Income Market derives from a combination of global and domestic factors.
• The yield curve soared fastest at the head and upper belly of the curve, rising by a cumulative 661bps on the three-month treasury bill.
• There is hope as it is anticipated, that a rebound in trading activity will happen in 2024.

The Kenyan Fixed Income Market displayed remarkable flexibility last year to experience one of the most rapid annual increases in yields resulting in a notable inversion of the effective yield curve.

According to financial experts, the rising volatility in the fixed income space derives from a combination of global and domestic factors.

On the external front, the rapid monetary policy tightening in 2022 and 2023 led investors to price-in bearish capital gain expectations for bonds.

On the domestic front, the rising concerns around fiscal sustainability indicators, coupled with an elevated inflationary regime in …

• In 2023, a significant investor sell-off led to a $15.5 million (KSh4.2 billion) decline in the Kenya stock market.
• During the review period, Safaricom’s market valuation declined, attributed in part to prolonged and price-agnostic portfolio outflows by foreign investors in favor of dollar-denominated assets.
• Utility Umeme Limited recorded the highest valuation gains throughout 2023, registering an impressive 115.6 percent return.

Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firms, including Safaricom PLC, British American Tobacco (BAT), and Cooperative Bank, emerged among the top counters experiencing the highest investor sell-off in 2023, a new trading report reveals.

Over the past year, a consistent trend of investor flight led to the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) witnessing a drop of $15.5 million (KSh4.2 billion) in the value of shares traded on the bourse

The 2024 outlook report by AIB-AXYS Africa Investment indicates that despite some firms, such as Safaricom, recording improvements in share prices towards the end …

• International Finance Corporation targets specific projects in Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Senegal, and South Africa.
• IFC’s $30 million (Sh4.8 billion), own-account investment will help Africa Infrastructure Investment Fund 4 Partnership (AIIF4) exceed its final close target of $500 million (Sh80.4 billion).
• A pan-African infrastructure private equity firm called the Africa50 Infrastructure Acceleration firm I is raising up to $500 million for investments

Kenya is among six African countries that International Finance Corporation (IFC) will pump $30 million (about KSh4.8 billion) equity investment to fund works on essential infrastructure.

The fund, managed by Africa Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), part of the Old Mutual Group, will support projects in the telecoms, renewable energy, and transport sectors across Africa but with a specific focus on Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Senegal, and South Africa.

In the telecoms sector, the fund will focus on financing data centers, fiber networks, and communications towers. In …

• Egypt has secured $250 million to aid its battered economy after the elections held in 2023.
• The country has been struggling, with the economy remaining on life support, while the regime continues to plough on with mega projects.
• Africa Finance Corporation and ITFC have a successful joint track record in Islamic finance, previously providing a $50 million loan to Egypt and a EUR 25 million loan to Senegal in November 2022.

Egypt has secured a $250 million loan from the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) to better prepare for anticipated shocks, disruptions, or stress that the North African country may experience.

As the continent’s primary provider of infrastructure financing solutions, AFC will extend a $250 million Sharia-law-compliant trade loan to Egypt in collaboration with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group.

According to a statement from IFC, the loan proceeds will contribute to …

• Trade tensions within the EAC bloc have intensified lately, with neighboring countries taking adverse actions against each other.
• In the latest development, Tanzania is blocking passenger flights from Kenya Airways to Dar es Salaam, while Burundi has officially closed its borders with Rwanda.
• Elsewhere, Kenya has been pursuing trade deals with the European Union and the United States, leaving regional economies to play catch-up

Heightened trade and political tensions between the East African member states are threatening to erode the gains of a free market and the dividends of a united bloc for a region expected to achieve the fastest growth across Africa this year.

As East Africa increasingly evolves into a focal point for economic growth and development, underlying trade tensions are testing the region’s unity to the fullest. As nations strive to harness the benefits of globalization, differing economic policies and priorities can often strains trade relations defeating …

• Kenya’s electricity imports from its neighbours have more than doubled
• For years, Ethiopia has supplanted Uganda from position one, Kenya’s top source of power imports.
• The East African nation has revealed that it needs $5.3 billion to overhaul power transmission lines and forestall frequent blackouts.

Kenya’s electricity imports from its neighbours have more than doubled in the past year amid increased demand and a slower pace of investment in energy infrastructure.

Data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) said the country imported 706.9 million kWh of electricity from Ethiopia and Uganda in the first 11 months of 2023, up from 288.27 million kWh in a similar period in 2022.

The bulk of the power imports — 546.5 million kWh — were sourced from Ethiopia during the period, according to KNBS, with the country emerging as Kenya’s biggest electricity supplier in the region. Ethiopia has supplanted Uganda from the …

• East Africa is set to outshine other regions in 2024 growth with Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda posting impressive numbers.
• This year, Africa’s overall growth is forecasted at 4 per cent, a notable increase from 3.3 per cent in 2023.
• These are findings of a new Africa 2024 outlook report by Stears, an economic analysis and data-driven insights provider.

The prevailing economic woes in Kenya are projected to continue in 2024 with persistent currency depreciation and inflationary pressures taking toll on individuals and businesses. This is according to a new Africa 2024 Outlook report by Stears, a Nigeria-based economic analysis and data-driven insights company.

Already, the latest statistics show that the Kenyan Shilling has already breached the 160 mark against the US dollar.

Stears’ 2024 Outlook delves into key African countries, specifically Kenya and the continent’s powerhouse Nigeria, projecting persisting economic challenges for both economies.

he macroeconomic analysis …

• The SAP FCPA violation will result in a $100 million fine from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
• From December 2014 to January 2022, SAP was found to have utilized third-party intermediaries and consultants to pay bribes to government officials in order to secure business.
• The SEC’s action is part of a coordinated global settlement that involves the United States Department of Justice and criminal and civil authorities in South Africa.

German software giant SAP has disclosed that it paid Kenyan government officials for tenders in the country. The company has now agreed to pay $100 million in fines to settle charges of paying bribes to secure business deals in Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Malawi, Ghana, Indonesia, and Azerbaijan.

In 2019, a whistleblower complaint filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Department of Justice indicated that SAP was involved in corruption and bribery, thereby violating US …